


Rocks & Stones

by academic_orpheus



Category: Hadestown - Mitchell
Genre: Angst, F/M, Major Character Injury, hades gets hurt, lots of mutual guilt, no beta sorry folks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:00:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23272855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/academic_orpheus/pseuds/academic_orpheus
Summary: Persephone prepares for the last day of summer when she receives news that a mine in Hadestown has collapsed, trapping Hades and six workers. Demeter is upset that Persephone chooses Hades and the underworld over everyone up top waiting to send her off formally, but Persephone has bigger concerns than a party.
Relationships: Hades/Persephone (Hadestown)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 44





	Rocks & Stones

A day of summer lingered on the September air. You could almost taste it, the humid, smoky haze slowly becoming overpowered by a fresh breeze of crisp gold and blue. Far off in the distance, a slow train whistle sounded.

Demeter folded up some of her daughter’s summer dresses, packing them expertly in a suitcase. Persephone had yet to master the art of fitting everything neatly into bags or drawers. 

“It’ll fit if I sit on it and pull the zipper,” she protested as Demeter nudged her aside.

“It’ll fit if you let me do it right,” she replied.

“You do that,” Persephone stepped back. “I just heard a knock at the door.”

Persephone answered the door to her half-brother, the god of travel, Hermès. A smattering of harsh black dust settled upon his suit and in his silvery dark hair, contrasting his usual tidiness.

“Whatcha doing here, brother? Come to celebrate my last day?” Persephone saw no wine in his hands, which sparked a glimmer of uncertainty down in her belly.

“No. Got news from Hadestown. I came here on the train. There’s been an accident in the mines.”

“What? What kind of accident? Is anybody hurt?”

“I don’t know, Hades was showing a new group of workers around—”

“Hades was in the mines?”

“Yes. He might’ve left before the shaft collapsed, but I heard there were some workers further down that could be trapped.”

“I’ll leave, then, I’ll leave here right now, I gotta make sure everything is fine.”

“Take your time,” was all that Hermès said as Persephone disappeared back into the house.

Her footsteps pounded up the stairs and Persephone barely stopped to breathe before she barged back into her room.

“Mama, I’m leaving now. Something happened down in the mines and I gotta be there as soon as possible.”

“Kore, you… that’s… you can’t. Summer don’t end till tomorrow.”

“I know. Mama, this is my kingdom as much as it is my husband’s.”

“Who are you going to choose, baby? All these people waiting on you? Or a man like any other, who will leave you and break your little heart?”

Demeter reached out to touch Persephone’s shoulder, a patronizing maneuver that Persephone turned away from immediately.

“I might be the goddess of the seasons, but I am the queen of the realm below. My husband is in danger, whether you approve of him or not. I care about him and I care about the goings-on of my kingdom.” Persephone’s voice was sharp despite its wavering. “I’ll be back soon, Mama. Don’t wait around for me if you don’t care to.”

Persephone shrugged on her coat and started down the stairs, ignoring her mother’s voice. 

Hermès still waited on the porch, trying to dust himself off. He took her arm in his as they walked silently to the train station. Persephone dreaded disappointing so many people, but the dread of what could be happening down below consumed her more.

She kept her head low as she crossed the platform, looking at the gap between the edge and the train. The heels of her boots clicked as she trailed along, settling down in her usual spot. The whistle sounded, and once again the thought of everyone up top made a knot in Persephone’s stomach. 

Somehow, in the midst of her noisy thoughts and growing worry, Persephone had fallen asleep. She jolted awake as the brakes of the train screeched, finally pulling into the platform. Her hands shook, making gathering her coat and bags a chore.

The underworld used to be her home. But as Persephone hurried to the other side of what used to be a town, now a chromium, industrial city full of smog and soot, she longed for just that one last day up on Earth. Moreso, she longed for her husband’s embrace, which overruled any flower, field, or orchard in her eyes. 

Through the smog, Persephone caught a glance of a headlamp that was gone as soon as it had appeared; almost like the beacon of a lighthouse through the nightly mist. She knew her way around, the city seeming unfamiliar but close at the same time, and knew that the beacon would lead her to where she needed to be. Hades.

As she approached, she could feel the rumbling of the machines underneath her feet. She could hear the shouts of other workers.

“Lady Persephone!” she heard one exclaim.

“What’s happened? Is Hades in the mines?”

Another worker answered her. “They’re all trapped. There’s a half dozen of ‘em, down with Mister Hades, and there ain’t nothing we can do to help. The rocks, we tried, tried lifting them and all that, they’re just too heavy.”

Persephone could feel her heart sink down, down, down into the ground and could only hope that it was reaching where Hades was trapped, hopeless and defeated.

Hades tried not to pace as he listened to more and more gravel and rock break off and hit the ground. Every little stone was one stone closer to the whole thing caving in. 

The six workers were sitting around, twiddling their thumbs, trying to make casual conversation despite the situation and whatnot, but Hades was restless.

Then he heard his name echoing like a melody as old as music itself. 

Persephone tread lightly, armed with a lantern and nothing else. The mine was daunting, especially alone. She was afraid that if she breathed too hard, the whole thing would tumble down upon her. The steady sound of machines almost drowned out a distant call. 

“Persephone?”

The voice was unmistakably Hades, the low rumble that accompanied his words shaking loose a pebble or two on Persephone’s path.

“Hades! I’m right here,” Persephone sighed, an odd smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.

One machine gave a frightening screech from down below. Then, an even more frightening screech echoed through the mine. 

“Persephone!”

This time, her name did not sound like a hopeful beacon, like a victory shout. It sounded like a last goodbye, it sounded pained and panicked. The ground up ahead collapsed, and Hades could no longer be heard calling to his beloved.

Persephone could do nothing but stand in shock. The ichor in her veins seemed to be replaced with solid gold, heavy and cold. She wanted to fall to her knees, to cry out again and again for Hades, but she was too afraid to move. She felt trapped, lost, panicked, and could only imagine how it was buried under rock and metal, running out of air and strength.

Another frightening rumble stirred up the very ground Persephone stood on. Stepping back, she feared she too would be swallowed whole by the mines. The rocks below stirred and trembled before being lifted enough to let the workers scramble out. She could hear the footsteps, but her eyes were trained on the rock itself. Persephone recognized the hands beneath the boulder. Those hands, still adorned with a wedding band and covered in dust, that were now resembling Atlas, shaking under the weight of the rocks.

And then, through the settling dust, headlamps. Beacons. Six beacons of light, shining through the clouds. Persephone still stood petrified as she counted six workers climbing out of the cavern to safety, murmuring thanks to the gods on Olympus. Damn ungrateful, Persephone thought, to be thanking Zeus when Hades himself was right… Where was he?

“Go, get out of here,” Persephone urged the workers, and disoriented as they were, they went.

Slowly, Persephone inched her way to the lip of the newly formed cavern. Hades lay next to the boulder he’d lifted, in a sad heap on the ground, clutching his wrists and breathing heavily, so heavily Persephone feared that his swelling and ebbing would bring more rocks down upon the both of them.

“Hades, can you hear me?” Persephone called.

Hades hadn’t moved, but he was still breathing mighty hard. 

“Can you get up? Just try, try and stand up,” her voice echoed.

Hades could barely hear her through the ringing in his ears, but he could feel the heavy desperation cutting through her like a knife. With a jolt, Hades lifted his head, instantly regretting it as he sank back down, letting out a weak groan.

“Please, Hades,” Persephone whispered to herself. 

Keeping his head low, he stumbled to his feet and struggled out of the hole he’d made. He accidentally leaned on Persephone a bit too hard as he emerged, his pristine suit torn and filthy and his usual pale skin a flushed rosy pink. She swerved to counterbalance the sudden weight upon her shoulder and knocked into the side of the shaft. Another loose chunk of rock rumbled and in the second it took to fall, Persephone was shoved to the side, landing on her hand and knees a foot or so away. In her place was Hades. He didn’t have the strength anymore to lift a boulder. He was crushed under it, Persephone could tell by the way he strained to breathe. She knew it was the least convenient thing possible, but she couldn’t help herself. Persephone had quickly worked herself up to the point of hyperventilating. “Go,” Hades’ weak voice trailed off as he tried to outstretch his hand.

Persephone wasn’t sure if she’d ever run so fast in all her days. The first few workers she found, she ordered them to follow. They were wary of the mine, with excellent reason, but Persephone urged them in. “I’m gonna need help moving this,” Persephone’s voice cracked as she explained, “and he needs medical attention, as soon as possible, please.”

The last word of her sentence dripped with despair and grief. Slowly, the workers gathered and began to push the rock, rolling it until their king was free. Oh, how Hades despised the fact that his people were seeing him in this state, helpless and weak and injured. He tried to sit up but was flattened back out with a near-immediate “No!” from Persephone.

Hades always feared something like this would happen, hindering him incapable of doing his job. What was he if not King of the underworld? As he stared at the clock in the bedroom, which read half past eleven, he wondered not about his own fragile condition, but Persephone’s.

As if she could hear his thoughts, Persephone came into the room barefooted and hair undone. Hades’ injuries were severe and plentiful. Broken ribs, for sure, as well as his aching wrists, which were most likely fractured from stress. Swelling in one of his hips indicated that there was probably a fracture there, too. The rest of his legs didn’t look very good either, and there was a possibility of spinal damage, which was by far the most worrisome. A gash ran from his ear to his top lip, carved perfectly along his cheekbone. All Persephone did, physically, was scrape up her hands and knees.

“Here, take this, helps with pain.” Persephone handed Hades a little glass half-full of a thick amber concoction.

He finished the glass, grimacing as the medicine went down his throat.

“How are you doing?” Hades asked, putting a shaking hand on Persephone’s thigh.

“Don’t worry about me, Hades.”

“You’re worried about me?”

“Yes, of course I am! You could’ve… I don’t know. I don’t want to think about it, I’m just glad you’re here now.”

“I couldn’t let you get hurt. I’d never forgive myself.”

“Well, I don’t feel too innocent either, Hades!” Persephone snapped. 

The room fell silent. Hades could hear his heart beating. He didn’t know what he wanted from Persephone, except that he wanted her to stay right there. He didn’t want her to go. But that’s precisely what she did.

Persephone spent the evening surveying the liquor cabinet, studying each and every bottle before grabbing a few and picking up a glass while she was at it. Four times she drained the cup of its poison, each sip more and more foggy in her mind than the last.

She stumbled off to bed, bottles of liquor still open on the table, and laid down without even so much as glancing at her poor husband. She felt an arm slide around her, pulling her close to his warm body. “Careful with your wrist,” Persephone whispered as Hades laced his fingers through hers.

Hades couldn’t get out of his head the way he felt in the mines. He was afraid. Gods don’t feel afraid of anything. He was helpless, in pain, weak. What would his brothers think of him? King of the underworld, broken into pieces by a loose stone. What felt even more pathetic were the tears forming in his eyes. Persephone was so peacefully still he assumed she was sleeping, knocked out cold by her round of drinks. Hades began to cry. He cried for his wife, who could’ve been killed. He cried for her forgiveness, how instant and natural it was. Persephone was, in fact, awake, although her eyes were closed. She knew how mortified he’d be if he knew she’d heard him, so for her sake and his, she stayed perfectly still.

Never in their millennium-long marriage had Persephone seen him upset like this. He either got mad or closed himself off. But as he wept and held her to his chest, she wondered if this was going to be permanent. If he would always flinch as he passed by the mines. If he was always going to be sore and broken. Trauma, Persephone knew for a fact, could be pretty damn permanent. She took comfort in the fact that this was just a weird funk, considering this wasn’t at all like Hades to accept defeat so easily. But it wasn’t at all like Hades to cry, yet the tears seeping into the sleeve of Persephone’s nightgown stained the satin as a reminder that everything had changed.

She didn’t say a word, just let him hold onto her for as long as he needed. He finally wore himself out and fell asleep with his chin hooked over Persephone’s shoulder.

————

Persephone woke up to one of Cerberus’ big, goofy faces inches away from hers, about to lick her. “No, sir,” she said sternly, and the dog sat with a huff.

“Cerberus?” Hades stirred, rubbing his eyes.

“Probably confused why I’m home so early and why you ain’t up yet,” Persephone sighed as she rolled over to face Hades.

“Another hour in bed and I don’t think I’ll ever get up.”

————

The dragging sound of a walker now accompanied Hades wherever he wandered. With one leg in a splint and the other still sore, he was lucky to be able to move around so much. He did have to limit his time, since holding onto the walker hurt his wrists. He had to come to terms with the fact that he was more fragile than before. An array of scars decorated his body, including the one on his face that was healing up. 

Bones could mend on their own. That was easy. Nature does that all on its own. But the way Hades couldn’t breathe if the down comforter at night was too heavy or the way he begged Persephone not to go show around any new workers was not right.

“This ain’t natural, Hades,” Persephone sighed over a cup of Darjeeling tea one morning as she rubbed her thumb in little circles across Hades’ hand.

“I know. I know it, moonshine. I’m sorry,” Hades held his chin in his hand, his gaze fixed on the mahogany kitchen table.

Persephone’s eyes widened. “No, no, that ain’t what I meant, I wasn’t blaming you,” she cried, latching onto his hand as a ferocious attempt at an apology. 

He pulled his hand away, letting out an awful whimper as pain shot from his wrist to his fingers.

“I’m so sorry, I’m sorry, Hades,” Persephone stumbled over her words as tears trickled freely down her face, dropping into her teacup. 

Seeing him in pain like that never failed to tear her apart. And seeing Persephone upset made Hades even more upset.

“It’s okay, I’m alright now, darling,” he brushed his other hand through her messy curls that hadn’t yet been tucked into a bun.

“It’s just so difficult,” she said, her bottom lip curling under to keep herself from sobbing.

“I know,” he responded, wishing he could stand and pick her up and carry her to bed.

“And I didn’t even get hurt. I would’ve, though. You saved me.”

“We saved each other.” Hades smiled, although his voice broke.

Persephone nodded, looked into his eyes for a moment, and then stood up.

“Where…”

“I’m going around town to make sure all the equipment is working. I ordered some part replacements, and got another excavator for the new tunnels.” A hint of hesitation lingered on her tongue. She knew Hades wouldn’t approve of her going anywhere near anything in town that could be dangerous, but she’d reassured him again and again that she was fine.

A few seconds passed. Hades’ eyes filled with deep fear and guilt, but he just blinked and said, “okay, I’ll be here when you get home.”

“On second thought, it can wait until tomorrow,” Persephone lightly shrugged and sat back down. “You’re my priority. Wanna go for a walk?”

“Sure,” Hades tried to hide the fact that his entire face lit up when Persephone decided to stay. He failed, blushing as she called him cute.

————

Hades limped alongside his wife, who was very proud of the flower she made on the way outside. She was so beautiful, even without her harsh makeup and her hair perfectly done. “Wait a second,” Persephone stopped in her tracks, turning to face Hades as she tucked the flower into his lapel. 

“Heliotrope,” she noted, stepping back to admire her husband, now with a yellow flower on his jacket.

He hummed with delight, a genuine smile lighting up his face for the second time that morning.

“When was the last time one of them flowers stayed alive down here, huh?” Hades chuckled.

“I can’t recall,” she answered, beaming as she looked down at her palms.

“Wanna keep walking?” he asked, subconsciously reaching to play with her hair again.

Persephone turned to look at Hades. She was going to have to get used to that big scar. She looked at the heliotrope, a symbol of eternal love and devotion. She gave him an answer. 

“Yes.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :)


End file.
